Take clutter to the woodshed this spring

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

If your lawnmower and car are fighting for parking space in your garage, a couple of businesses have solutions that can put that battle to rest.

Homeowners with ample backyard space could find their answer in a new outdoor shed, said George Bogaert, salesperson at Tuff Shed Inc. in Madison Heights.

According to Bogaert, people tend to use sheds for a few major reasons. Some people like to utilize them as home offices or as laboratories for their hobbies, such as toy railroads. Other buyers use them as storage space for garden equipment and barbecues, or as a way to lessen clutter from other parts of the home.

“Basically, a lot of (customers) are trying to get their garages back,” he said.

Bogaert said Tuff Shed works with the customer to customize the shed, including its paint color, style and size. The sheds’ styles tend to resemble ranch houses or barns instead of humdrum storage facilities, he said.

The sheds are pre-assembled at the business’s Livonia factory and are then completed on the buyer’s property.

Bogaert said his company’s sheds typically range in price from about $1,400 to more than $10,000. Because of the economy, more people are designing their sheds on a budget and are downsizing their expectations, he said.

But while this time of the year is slower than in previous spring seasons, he said the company has seen greater spurts of activity than in the recent past.

“I have a lot of people telling me the reason they are buying their shed is because they can’t sell their home,” he said. “So they’re staying put and buying more space.”

Bogaert said buyers should first check out the ordinances that are on the books of their local government. For instance, he said some cities require a permit to set up a shed while others do not. Other times, a municipality may require a shed to sit on a concrete foundation, which can cost about $1,200-$1,300 for a typical 10-foot-by-12-foot shed, he said.

Jim Lehner, owner of the Rochester Hills-based Garage Interiors of Michigan Inc., said it is ultimately a homeowner’s decision to build an outdoor shed. However, Lehner said his company offers an alternative solution for residents whose communities have strict shed regulations.

Lehner specializes in selling and installing PVC slot wall panels that allow owners to hang up their possessions in a garage. Anything from snowboards and shovels to bicycles and strollers can be hung from the panels, he said.

The product makes more room for cars, and it can help lessen the headaches of people who tend to use their garages as a big storage box for miscellaneous items, he said.

“There are statistically 90 million garages in the United States,” he said, “and about 80 million of them are totally disorganized, so that’s our customer base.”

For more information on Tuff Shed Inc., log on to http://www.tuffshed.com or call (248) 414-6871. To learn more about Garage Interiors of Michigan Inc., visit http://www.gimich.com or call (248) 852-8429.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1058.